Joe Cullen returns for his third season as Jaguars defensive line coach. Now in his sixth NFL season, Cullen has 22 years of coaching experience including 17 on the collegiate level.
Joe Cullen returns for his third season as Jaguars defensive line coach. Now in his sixth NFL season, Cullen has 22 years of coaching experience including 17 on the collegiate level.
Cullen is responsible for developing the defensive line, which improved its sack total in each of the two seasons under Cullen including 31 by the defense in 2011. He has been responsible for the development of two recent draft picks in defensive tackles Terrance Knighton and Tyson Alualu. Alualu, the 10th overall pick in 2010, has started the first 32 games of his career. Fourth-year defensive end Jeremy Mincey produced career-best totals in 2011 with 101 tackles along with a team-leading eight sacks and four forced fumbles. The eight sacks were the most by a Jaguar since Bobby McCray had 10 in 2006. Mincey has at least five sacks in back-to-back seasons, the first player to accomplish that feat since McCray and Rob Meier in 2006-07.
Prior to the Jaguars Cullen served as defensive line coach at Idaho State in 2009, but he spent three seasons (2006-08) before that with the Detroit Lions as defensive line coach. Under his direction, the Lions finished 10th in the NFL in 2008 in sacks per pass attempt and finished in the top 10 for the second straight season in sacks. Rookie defensive end Cliff Avril led all first-year players in sacks with six and in forced fumbles with four.
In 2007 the Detroit defensive line improved from 24th to ninth in the NFL in sacks as the unit registered 28.5, seventh in the league. Three different linemen had career highs in sacks. During that time Cullen instituted the "Joe Cullen Big Man Camp" for linemen in the Detroit inner-city area.
Before his one season at Idaho State Cullen spent 16 seasons on the collegiate level as an assistant coach. He was part of Ron Zook’s first staff at Illinois in 2005 as a defensive assistant. He was on the Indiana staff for three seasons (2002-04) including the last season as defensive coordinator when the Hoosiers knocked off two ranked teams in the same season for the first time in 16 years. Cullen spent the 2001 season at Memphis as defensive line coach.
Cullen, 44, spent eight seasons (1992-98, 2000) at Richmond including three as defensive coordinator. He was promoted from defensive line coach to defensive coordinator in 1997 and spent two seasons leading the unit. Following a year at Louisiana State he returned to Richmond to lead the defense in 2000. The Spiders led the Atlantic 10 in total defense in all three seasons Cullen served as defensive coordinator. In 2000 the unit ranked fourth nationally in rushing defense and 14th in scoring defense despite playing the nation’s toughest schedule.
In 1998, the club finished 9-2 and won the Atlantic 10 title and advanced to the NCAA playoffs. He left in 2000 to coach the defensive line at Louisiana State but returned in 2000 to help lead the Spiders to a 10-3 record and an appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals.
Cullen played nose guard at the University of Massachusetts from 1986-89, earning All-Yankee Conference honors three times. He later began his coaching career overseeing the defensive line at his alma mater from 1990-91. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sports management and has earned credits toward a master’s degree at both Illinois and Richmond.
COACHING BACKGROUND: Massachusetts 1990-91, Richmond 1992-98, 2000, Louisiana State 1999, Memphis 2001, Indiana 2002-04, Illinois 2005, Detroit Lions 2006-08, Idaho State 2009, Jacksonville Jaguars 2010-12.
